The dance between chaos and order...

NaLDS faci assignment #1...

NaLDS faci assignment #2...

NaLDS intro Kevin...

Synchronicity...

Today I finished an amazing book; Synchronicity by Joseph Jaworski. Reading through his book has been a profound self discovery experience that no other book has been able to offer. Each page is most beautifully written, such that it gave me a feeling as if I was there with each event. Synchronicity according to C. Jung is “a meaningful coincidence of two or more events, where something other than the probability of choice is involved.” In those moments, it seems as though invisible hands are helping us. Some people might refer to this as luck or faith; I do believe it is part of a subtle leadership sphere where predictable miracles can actually occur when we create the conditions for that.

One sentence perfectly captures the beauty of this book: “when we start to accept this fundamental shift of mind, we begin to see ourselves as part of the unfolding. We also see that it’s actually impossible for our lives not to have meaning.” Once we are able to cross that threshold and allow this shift of mind, we can experience synchronicity.

We will not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

~ T.S. Elliot, Four Quartets

Isn’t that beautiful, I’ve realised through the course of this book that I’m arriving again at places where I started, but this time it is another place. This rediscovery of all that I left, and am left with is more profound than any other experience. This exploration operates at a higher level, a level that is more profound in the sense of being in the flow of things. I’m now getting in the flow of things. Though, I still need to discover how that fits into the situations I’m faced with here in my new home.

If you are interested in leadership, I can only recommend you to read this book and see how synchronicity is operating in your life…

Connectedness...

April 2006 is a month I’ll never forget for many reasons. I both love and hate that month. It is when I attended an Art of Hosting seminar, a seminar where we learned how to host meaningful conversations, and how that connects to leadership. Whatever it was that happened during those 4 days, it was a profound experience that up to today I still can’t exactly put in words.

I’ve noticed that ever since I came back, my thoughts have been changing rapidly; new views are emerging day by day, and my personality with it. What I’ve been able to take out of that seminar, I’m thankful for every day. I’ve seen how Art of Hosting can profoundly impact our daily lives, what harvest it can yield. The way I see things, the way I value synchronicity in life, and what I know that I want to do, or maybe supposed to do, I could not be more grateful for that.

After I came back from AoH, I started to read a lot of books that were recommended and ever since it’s been like a constant string of synchronistic events following up on each other. Recently though, I’ve noticed that my thoughts are emerging faster than I’m able to carry into my environment. Every day, my mind is processing new information and I’m barely able to keep up. I have a feeling with all that is emerging in my mind, I’m not ready to be in Germany, working for AIESEC, and AIESEC Germany is not ready for me. Too often I end up in discussions because of lack of mental connectedness. My mind is moving faster than the environment around me, and I have a feeling somebody put me on cruise control not being able to turn it off.

What to do, I feel I’m not getting connected here in Germany because it seems we’re moving in parallel worlds. It’s like when Ghandi said, “India is not ready for me.” Though, I don’t know whether Germany is not ready for me, or I’m not ready for Germany. Maybe I’m missing something; maybe I’m lacking the ability to put the synchronicity into a mental model that makes sense for my environment and for me.

Somebody, anybody help…